__________________________________________________________ # This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the # # song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.# #________________________________________________________ # Estelle By Dan Bern Transcribed by Justin Intro: G Am C D G G Am C D G G I was painting a still life this morning Am Of a throat lozenge sitting on a copy of Tropic of Cancer C D The only thing weird about it is that a year ago G I never thought I'd paint anything again G I decided I wasn't ever gonna paint again Am It didn't bother me too much, Warhol's dead, C G David Hockney's still alive, I don't need to paint G I painted over ten thousand paintings Am Sad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light ones C D I've done haystacks and rich old ladies by their pools G Wearing nothing but a scarf G Am I've painted everything there was to paint, now it was time to sit back C D Give interviews, get on the Internet, hang out at Club Med, G Take stock of what I've done G You know, the best friend I ever had was a dog Am It sounds like a cliche unless it's happened to you C D G Some days that dog was the only reason I even got out of bed G That dog went everywhere with me, and then I heard the crack addicts Am Were stealin' dogs and selling them for animal research C D It sounded like an urban myth to me like the mouse in the Coke bottle G But I started leavin' her at home after that G You know, Paula was my wife for a while Am She ran off to Paris with the great grandson of Van Gogh C D G A cartoonist who did fashion graphics for Le Monde G When Paula left she took my dog Am I never saw her again except in the court during the custody battle C D She won and got to keep the dog G And I didn't speak to anyone for months G You know sometimes it feels Bm Like there's so much that you need C Bm G Sometimes the world is upside down G Sometimes it feels Bm Like the only thing you need C Bm Bb C Is holdin' someone's hand as you walk through town G I started hanging around with Dino Am He used to run a poker game back east C D Now he sells cappuccino to his old pals G Tommy Chicago and Jimmy the Wig and Ugly Rose G You know the best person I ever knew Am Was a Mormon woman named Estelle C D She still calls me drunk every few months and asks me stuff I don't want to talk about G You can't talk to her very long unless you're drunk yourself Then we go all night G Am C D G G She says, "Why baby, why baby, why baby, why Am Have you turned your back on love? C D G You had so many chances, why have you let them all go by?" G Well, one morning I was sitting in front of Dino's place Am With Jake the Shears, a guy from Philly who gives free mohawks C D And a couple of young painters I was hoping would come by G So I could give 'em some advice G Yeah, I was sittin' there updating my list of enemies Am When this girl walks in and the universe kind of stops C D Turned out she drank the same tea as me G It don't take more than that to start a conversation sometimes G She believed collage was the greatest of all the arts Am And was busy pasting pictures of horses C D Next to ads for laundry soap next to Mohammed Ali G She had a turquoise in her ear and said Rachmaninoff was always in her head G Am Later that day I was trying to describe her to Jimmy the Wig C D G I couldn't find any words and I realized I'd started to sketch her chin G Somehow it didn't look right Am I scratched it out and tried it again C D G I filled an entire pad, I threw it away, I never even came close G For six days I sat at Dino's place Am The rain wouldn't quit and no one came in C D G Finally on the seventh day it cleared and in she walked G I asked her to sit with me and I bought her a cup of tea Am And I asked her to model for me sometime C D That afternoon I was at a canvas, she was wearing a yellow dress G I swore if she let me, I'd get it right G I've painted over ten thousand paintings Am Sad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light ones C D G But sitting there, it was like I couldn't even write my own name G I apologized and said, "It's been a few months Am If you have patience, I'll get the hang of it again" C D G In the next few weeks, I painted her hundreds of times G If I get the nose right, the chin's too long Am If I get 'em both right, the face is too thin C D G But I keep after it and one day I'll get it all right G Am C D G G Am C D G G I painted a still life this morning Am Of a throat lozenge sitting on a copy of Tropic of Cancer C D G The only that's funny is I never thought I'd paint anything again G I think I might go visit Estelle Am Those Utah mountains are good for the soul C D I'll bring my brushes and some Jack Daniels G And we can make up for lost time G She said, "Why baby, why baby, why baby, why baby Am Why have you turned your back on love C D G You had so many chances, why do you let 'em all go by? G Why baby, why baby, why baby, why baby Am Why have you turned your back on love C D G You had so many chances, why do you let 'em all go by?" G You know sometimes it feels Bm Like there's so much that you need C Bm G Sometimes the world is upside down G Sometimes it feels Bm Like the only thing you need C Bm Bb C Is holdin' someone's hand as you walk through town G Am C D G G Am C D G G Am C D G G Am C D G Notes: This song is actually structured much more simply than I made it look. It's the vocal phrasing that throws me off, but that's more natural. Basically, except for the chorus, it's just two measures of G, two measures of Am, a measure of C, a measure of D, then back to G, then you just repeat it. So why did I bother to type the whole song out? I'm asking myself the same question right now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Disclaimer: The University of Oklahoma explicitly disclaims any legal liability for the contents of this page or information accessible from this page. Web pages are provided as a privilege to OU students to enhance their life long learning experience, and the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the institution or its student body. 1
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